Empower people with talents.
Qu Yuan's works record his persistence in the ideal of "beautiful politics" and his struggle against the decadent aristocratic groups in Chu. His ideal of "beautiful politics" is reflected in his works, that is, "cultivating talents and empowering them, but doing things without being equal" (Li Sao). The so-called "promoting talents and empowering" is to select truly talented people to govern the country, oppose the secular world, and limit the monopoly of the old aristocracy on power. He also took the historical stories of Fu Shuo, the slave, Lv Wang, the butcher and Ning Qi, the vendor, as examples to illustrate the rationality of selecting talents regardless of their status. The so-called "following the rope without being rude" means practicing the law, that is, the law is not expensive and limiting the privileges of the old nobles.
Formulate a constitutional order
Qu Yuan's position of advocating reform and legal system is confirmed by his own works. Qu Yuan, who was "good at managing chaos", knew that to make his motherland rich and strong, he had to innovate politics and promote the legal system, just like the reformists in other countries at that time. In Li Sao, he made a request to Wang Huai, the monarch of Chu at that time, saying, "Why not change this degree and take care of the strong?" Take a ride and gallop, first to show my husband the way. Qu Fu, a poet in A Qing, said: "Zhuang" in the poem refers to "beautiful politics", "filth" refers to "dirty politics" and "degree" refers to the old law. Ma Maoyuan also said: "Abandoning filth means abandoning Chu's corrupt and dark political laws and reforming them. This degree refers to the current political laws. "He asked the king of Chu to practice American politics, abandon filthy politics, reform the status quo, abolish the old system, and firmly stated that he would be the pawn and pioneer of this reform. Qu Yuan's reformist stance is fully revealed here. In another poem, Nostalgia, Qu Yuan described his specific practice of reform: "Nostalgia and faith, ordered to foretell the future. Serving the first merit shines on the next merit, and it is suspected of statutes. It is the minister, not the sky, that makes the country rich and powerful. "He said that his reform was first ordered by Chu Huaiwang; The second is to "make meritorious service first"-inherit the legacy of previous innovators; Third, focus on the "doubt of knowing the law"-establishing a new legal system; Fourth, the top-down political reform movement aimed at achieving national prosperity.
Great unification
"Upholding the law" and "Shang Xian" are not the purpose of Qu Yuan, but only the two most important means to realize his political ideal. What is Qu Yuan's political ideal? This is also briefly described in Li Sao. "Li Sao" said: "I suddenly ran away, and I followed the heel of the former king." He also said: "The purity of the past three times is because there are many fragrances. ..... Geng Jiexi of Pi Yaoshun said that he would take the path and the road. ..... Tang Yu held out his hand to respect Xi, which is what he said, but it's not bad ... ""More importantly, I feel sad about Huang Yu's failure. "These poems show that Qu Yuan's ideal is to keep Chu from losing its strength, win a great victory through hard work, and finally unify China; Make the monarch of Chu chase after, take advantage of martial arts, take advantage of Yao and Shun, take advantage of the law, transcend civil and military affairs, and establish a unified centralized feudal country. This is what ordinary critics call the "great unification" thought. This ideal of "great unification" is in line with the historical development trend.
political reform
In order to realize the great cause of rejuvenating the State of Chu, Qu Yuan actively assisted in the political reform, and insisted on uniting with the outside world, which once made the country rich and strong. Regarding the content of this political reform, Historical Records and Warring States Policy are too brief for people to see the whole picture, but Tang, an expert in Chu history, summarized Qu Yuan's political reform into six articles after tedious and rigorous textual research:
First, the purpose of rewarding farming is to increase taxes, enrich the country and enrich the people, and the reward campaign is to strengthen military strategic equipment; Wei Yang and Wu Qi's political reforms are all like this. Whether they are farming or going out, the people are looking forward to it. Only by establishing a reward and punishment system will civil servants and people be willing to do their best for the promotion of professional titles.
Second, it is a question of merits and demerits. During the Warring States period, he advocated respecting the virtuous corporal, making Wei the first ruler in the early 100 years of the Warring States period. Second, to promote Qi Huangong (Qi Weiwang's father) of Qi, Qi Huangong opened Xia Ji School as a learning hall for recruiting talents. During the period of Qi Weiwang, Xia Ji School was still the place where scholars all over the world longed to surpass the girders. At this time, Qu Yuan's reform was just the right time, but it was in sharp contrast with Zhao Wuling's military reform. Ten years later, during the Warring States period, Zhao was strong, while Chu was weak but gradually depressed.
Third, anti-shielding. That is to say, to break the communication barrier between the monarch and his subjects, so that the orders given by the king of Chu can be accurately and instantly conveyed to the official's office, and the official's office will also convey the orders given by the palace to the ordinary people at the first time; Let the king of Chu exchange the needed materials with the people to break the situation that the king of Chu is surrounded by yes-men; The monarch can clearly and vividly understand the sufferings of people's livelihood and does not listen to partiality. And the opinions of the subjects can reach heaven at high speed.
Fourth, banning cronies. In view of the fact that the nobles of Chu and the old clan often collude with each other for personal gain; Attacking dissident ministers and workers. Therefore, it should be restrained and eliminated in the form of law.
Fifth, life rewards and punishments. Both Shang Yang, a famous legalist, and Wu Qi, a military strategist, pay attention to using strict laws to restrain the merits and demerits of soldiers. On the issue of political reform, Qu Yuan integrated the essence of legalists and military strategists.
Sixth, change customs. Qu Yuan hated the unhealthy trend of Chu, and every eloquent and eloquent old kinsman took advantage of the country's thematic interests. This reform also curbed the unhealthy trend of Chu from the legal form.